A Brutal Game (1983) DVD

Jean-Claude Brisseau (Secret Things, The Exterminating Angels, A L Aventure) is an auteur often associated with films that are sexually provocative, risqué and controversial.

In this darkly fascinating tale, Professor Tessier (Bruno Cremer), a famous scientist, has an unruly adolescent daughter, Isabelle, who is paralysed from the waist down. From the outset we learn that Tessier is a killer, systematically murdering children who vandalised his lab. Tyrannical and extremely controlling of his daughter, Tessier is also an introverted figure that at times evokes pity. As he descends into a moral abyss his daughter Isabelle increasingly opens up to the world.

Avoiding serial-killer movie clichés, Brisseau has crafted a mesmerising character study, anchored by stunning performances from Emmanuelle Debever and Bruno Cremer. Brutal, passionate, obsessive and pertinent, A BRUTAL GAME (UN JEU BRUTAL) remains to this day one of the most powerful and shocking French films.